After the Order
by jessmerrick
Summary: Sam is very quiet and Jack is worried about her.


Notes: This is more, During the Order, but...my series of missing scenes is After the...so, there. Fairly similar to After the Emancipation, I admit it, but...

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Colonel Jack O'Neill arrived on board the Daniel Jackson and watched as his friends interacted with each other. He grinned to himself as he observed the odd conversation between Jackson and Thor.

Teal'c was rummaging through his backpack, probably attempting to find a snack. That Jaffa could eat for the Olympics. Except, he was an alien so he wouldn't qualify for the Olympics. Would he? Hmm. Jack made a mental note to check that out, could be entertaining when he was bored.

Yep, sure enough, the giant pulled out an apple, and began to munch. Jack shook his head, smiling, and ran through his list, without even thinking about it. All his team were accounted for, except for Carter.

He frowned, and searched the room, finally sighing with relief when he spotted her sat with her back to them, in the far corner. He was slightly worried about her, and he hadn't really been able to show it back on the planet. He hoped his expression had been enough to say what he wanted to say.

He strolled over to that part of the room and stood still for a moment, silent. He listened out, and he could hear the faintest sobs and sniffs. He walked back over to the others. "Hey, guys, why don't you go and get comfy? Thor can show you where to go?" He suggested, wiggling an eyebrow.

"Okay," Daniel agreed, catching on straight away that Jack was up to something. Teal'c bowed his head, but unfortunately the little Asgard did not realise what he was doing.

"O'Neill, the journey to Earth will not take long," He replied.

"Your engines have packed in," O'Neill told him, wiggling the brow again, less subtly this time, "it's going to take quite a bit longer."

Thor paused for a moment, studied the men's faces, and then nodded. "Very well, O'Neill." He turned to Daniel and Teal'c, "allow me to escort you to a more comfortable room."

The two men followed Thor out, leaving Jack and Sam alone in the bridge room. She sniffed and looked around, wondering where everyone had gone. She didn't realise O'Neill was still there, and so she sat back, relaxing, and turning around. She propped herself up against the wall, and then wiped her eyes when she realised she wasn't alone. "Oh, hi, sir," she said, putting on her best smile.

Jack shook his head and sat down beside her. "Ouch," he groaned. "The knees." There was silence for a moment, and then he turned to her. "Carter?"

"Yes sir?"

"Don't pretend you're fine. You were crying," He sighed. "You wanna talk about it?"

Sam sniffed again, and shrugged. "Not much to talk about, sir. Fifth kidnapped me and subjected me to the mind probing like we experienced before...that was pretty much it. You guys got me out...here I am."

"It's never that simple," He coughed, and then banged his head against the wall. "This isn't going to be easy. I've had to ask you this before – to go in to more detail, to recount things that may be painful. To tell me the full truth - everything that happened, and to leave nothing out. I asked you after the mission with Abu and that Turban dude...and I'm asking you again. What happened? Did Fifth..."

"He said he loved me," she said finally, looking up at her friend. "He told me that he loved me. Ever since the first time we met."

"Carter..." He began, scratching his head. _Just tell me, now. It's better for both of us if we get it over and done with._

"When I was beamed from here, I found myself in a cell made of replicator blocks. Fifth soon appeared, and he entered my mind, showed me horrifying memories and scenes – so much pain – so painful that I started to cry, I'm not sure whether I just burst in to tears or whether I knew it would make him stop for a while, maybe both, but...it was so painful. And he was in there several times. Then, after maybe six or seven rounds of that, I woke up in a bed, in a nightgown, on a farm, with really long hair. I got dressed and went outside and I found Pete, feeding the animals. I told him it wasn't real, and he told me that...that I'd quit the SGC because I'd had a break down, and I was seeing a shrink. We'd both left our jobs, and...then later, I kept insisting it wasn't real, and he flipped out. It wasn't my Pete. It just wasn't him, and I knew it. So Pete walked towards me and then suddenly he was Fifth. And Fifth told me that he loved me, and that he was doing all this because he loved me. And he said he was mad at me before and that was why he had been torturing me. I told him I'd never participate in his fantasy, and he said that I would be miserable for a very long time then."

"Oh god, Sam...I didn't realise how bad..."

"You showed up, and he said we had to leave. He told me you guys didn't care, because he'd said he'd kill me if you took out the replicators, but you did it anyway. I said it was because you knew I'd rather be dead than his prisoner. I said he could kill me if he wanted but if he had a shred of humanity he'd let me go," Sam continued. She paused for a moment and took a tissue out of her pocket. Once she'd wiped her eyes, she went on. "Next thing I knew, really, I was on the ground and you were shouting my name. Teal'c was leaning over me."

"That's everything?" He checked, putting a hand on her shoulder. She nodded, and looked down at her hands, which were rested on her lap. "I'm so sorry, Carter. I don't really know what to say, apart from...you're safe now. You're almost home. You'll soon be able to talk to the real Pete. And also that I'm really glad to have you back - we thought you were dead for a while there."

"I was surprised to see you," she smiled. "I'm glad to have you back too. I missed you like crazy...we all did. But especially me. I even went by your house a few times."

"Really? Why?" He frowned, but with a smile on his face too. He put his arm around her and she moved closer so she was leaning on him. "I mean, I wasn't there."

"I just wanted something to connect me to you. I just sat there for a while," she shrugged. "I thought it might help me to find a way to save you, but it never did."

"The whole reason you got captured by Fifth was because you were trying to save me," he sighed. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," she nodded, and then grinned. "I wonder what's for dinner. I'm starving."

"I take it Fifth didn't feed you?"

"Pancakes. One lot. That was about all."

"Pancakes? Ba'al never fed me pancakes," he pouted. "I bet you Teal'c has a whole stash of food in his pack," he grinned, standing up. He held out his hand and she took it. "Let's see what he has in his goodie bag."

"I might have turkey sandwiches. I made some as I know he loves them. They might be kind of...gross, though..."


End file.
